Formula 1 want Las Vegas race facility to be a year-round attraction

Sam Cooper
Las Vegas

Las Vegas

Formula 1 reportedly wants to ensure the new structure it is building for the Las Vegas Grand Prix gets used all year round.

The owners of F1, Liberty Media, announced in March that a deal had been completed to add a race in Nevada to the 2023 schedule, making it the third to feature in the US alongside Austin and Miami.

Work is underway to get the track ready in time for the race next year and as part of the project, Formula 1 purchased a $240 million (£198 million) plot of land to build facilities such as the pit and paddock.

Having something that expensive sitting idle for 99% of the year is not a wise investment so Liberty Media president and CEO Greg Maffei has said they want to ensure the facility is used all year round.

“Our goal was to have a facility which is not only magnificent for the race but has the opportunity to have ongoing activations and events at that facility when even when the race is not underway,” he said to a call with Liberty Media investors, as reported by racefans.net.

Unlike other races which are typically left to third parties, F1 has decided to bear the brunt of the Las Vegas Grand Prix itself but Maffei said there was no cause for concern.

“You should be thinking we can well manage this within the capital we have. It’s not going to drain us in any way and it’s not going to forestall us from doing other actions,” he said.

Speaking at the time of the race’s announcement, Maffei described it as a “unique opportunity” and one which will take the potential of F1 to “the next level.”

“Iconic Las Vegas and Formula 1, the pinnacle of motorsport, is the perfect marriage of speed and glamour,” he said.

“Our confidence in this unique opportunity is evident in our decision to assume the promoter role for the Las Vegas Grand Prix in partnership with Live Nation.

“We could not be more excited to work with our local partners to create a marquee event. The potential of Formula 1 has been well demonstrated over the last several seasons and the Las Vegas GP will only take it to the next level.”

However, F1 president Stefano Domenicali has warned more must be done to promote the race so it does not follow the footsteps of the last Las Vegas Grand Prix which was held in 1982 but failed to attract local interest.

“It’s important that we are working very hard in driving the engagement and getting the new city excited about Formula 1,” Domenicali said.

“We’re going to come back with all the plans that we have in order to make sure that we want to bring F1 to life with emotion, passion. It is really important to increase the level of engagement that we expect from Vegas City.”